2024 Isle of Man TT
Sidecar TT Race Two
Ryan and Callum Crowe completed a fantastic TT ’24 double in Thursday afternoon’s 3wheeling.media Sidecar TT. In a race reduced to 2 laps (due to time constraints), the Jurby brothers dominated in the kind of manner we’ve come to expect of Ben Birchall in recent years. They clocked a 120 mph lap on their way to glory, only the 3rd outfit in history to do so.
Birchall and new passenger, Kevin Rousseau, came home 2nd, 20s down on the Crowes. The legendary Dave Molyneux completed the podium in 3rd with 20-year-old debutant Jake Roberts in the chair.
In the morning, the second sidecar race of the week initially got underway, and the leading crews were on their way over the mountain when reigning world champions Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement came to grief at the Waterworks. Their outfit blocked the road, causing a red flag, but thankfully, the pair were unhurt.
The Superstock bikes were hastily called to the holding area for their race, and the sidecar restart was pencilled in for 1415.
Ellis and Clement stated that they were embarrassed to have caused the red flag but had definitely caught the TT bug and would return. That was great news, as the high-profile pair has been a great addition to the field—amazingly, they had been in third when they crashed. But perhaps that was an indication that they were trying just a little too hard, too early in their TT careers.
Unfortunately, Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley had blown an engine in the first run that morning and were unable to recover the outfit to make the restart.
When the race got underway, the Crowes picked up exactly where they had left off. Setting a blistering pace, they led at Glen Helen on lap 1 by 4s over Birchall and Rousseau.
Blackstock and Rosney were in 3rd ahead of Molyneux and Roberts. John Holden and Alan Founds completed the top 6.
The Crowes continued to exert pressure for the remainder of the lap, and by the time they streaked past the Grandstand to start the second and final lap, the difference was 10 seconds.
Alan Founds was controversially black-flagged at Sulby because it was thought that part of the passenger tray was hanging down. However, after an inspection, it was decided that there was nothing wrong with the machine, and he was allowed to continue, with the time lost during the stop credited back to him. Nevertheless, Founds was livid at having his rhythm disrupted in such a fashion.
Moly benefitted from the confusion and hit 3rd at the Bungalow on lap 1. He continued in that position for the remainder of the race ahead of Blackstock and Rosney as Founds and Gibbons attempted to regroup.
There were a number of retirements in the race. They included past-winner Reeves and Wilkes, who never made it to Ramsey, and Crawford and Hardie, who stopped at Crosby. It’s quite common for many of the outfits not to be present by the end of the 2nd race at the TT due to the punishment dealt out to them throughout the fortnight.
It was immediately clear that the Crowe brothers were on 120mph lap from in the early stages of the 2nd circuit. They were setting a furious pace and yet seemed perfectly in control. Once they saw Birchall and Rousseau on the road, the game was up. They caught and passed the number 1 chair coming down the mountain to take the flag as leaders on the road and 20s up in the race. Their 120.335mph lap time was the 2nd fastest sidecar lap of all time and the fastest ever on the new-for-2024 tyres.
17 times TT winner Dave Molyneux brought his machine home over a minute back to complete the podium. And it was an emotional return to the winner’s enclosure for the local hero. He hadn’t stood on the box since 2014. Dave uncharacteristically revved his engine in celebration- an indication of how much it meant to the 61-year-old.
1. Ryan Crowe / Callum Crowe Honda LCR
2. Ben Birchall / Kevin Rousseua Honda LCR +20.491
3. Dave Molyneux / Jake Roberts Kawasaki DMR +93.656s
Alan Founds lamented being pulled over at Sulby and reckoned it had cost him the chance to fight Moly; he finished just 6 seconds back.
1. Ryan Crowe / Callum Crowe Honda LCR
2. Ben Birchall / Kevin Rousseua Honda LCR +20.491
3. Dave Molyneux / Jake Roberts Kawasaki DMR +93.656s
But it was a great day for the Isle of Man. Four Manxmen stood on the podium; only Birchall and Rousseau were foreigners. The Manx national anthem rang out for the second time that week, and you can be sure there will be great celebrations in the North of the island this evening.
While the sidecar races have fielded a depleted field in recent years, it seems as though the quality of the entry has increased. With the likes of Ellis and Clement promising to return, it’s very much a case of quality rather than quantity. With that in mind, the future looks bright for the chairs going forward.
2024 Isle of Man TT Results
Sidecar TT Race Two
- Ryan Crowe / Callum Crowe Honda LCR
- Ben Birchall / Kevin Rousseua Honda LCR +20.491
- Dave Molyneux / Jake Roberts Kawasaki DMR +93.656s
- Alan Founds / Rhys Gibbons Yamaha LCR +100.534s
- Lewis Blackstock / Patrick Rosney Yamaha LCR +105.28s
- Steve Ramsden / Mathew Ramsden Honda LCR +185.411s
- John Saunders /James Saunders Yamaha LCR +203.95s
- Wayne Lockey / Matthew Rostron Honda LCR +207.87s
- Robert Dawson / Matthew Sims Honda LCR +218.546s
- Conrad Harrison / Ashley Moore Yamaha Ireson +234.54s
